Monday, March 7, 2016

Redditor theorizes on the current protest culture on college campuses

A lot of current college students grew up in schools where it wasn’t uncommon for somebody’s parents to try to ban books from the library because they found them offensive, ban food from the cafeteria because someone had allergies, and ban dodgeball from gym class because someone got a bruise. And the school admnistration usually gave in. So I think a lot of them now have this idea that they can just throw a fit and get their way like a spoiled toddler, and school administrations have done nothing but prove them right and enable this behavior. Students have always had their political pet causes to be outspoken about, but this particular batch figured out what buttons they can push to get their “look at me, I’m making a change” reward. -- commenter solestri on this thread

It's too easy to make the connection, I think, between a generation coddled to growing into demanding adults, but some of the worst offenders aren't millennials but those in their 30s-through 50s with enough power and influence. It cuts across party lines, too. In recent years the left has received some much needed criticism, but the right practices their own version of identity politics and has a long history of peddling morality. I think social media has a lot to do with, at least, signaling becoming a priority. When you have only 140 characters to show which side you're on, nuance gets lost.